24
by Temmy-Kitza
Summary: My response to Gethsemane342's 24 word challenge. Please review!
1. Colors

Colors: Prim

"Katniss, look!" I cry as I attempt to steer her over to the bakery. Using all my strength, I manage to drag her to the display window, but only because Katniss is subconsciously allowing me to. I press my nose against the frost-covered window. "They're so beautiful," I whisper. The cakes are decorated with amazing letters and flowers and delicate ropes of icing. But the best part, by far, are the breathtaking color blends on the cake. The colors are blindingly intense; so different from the always-present layer of gray coal dust in district twelve. I cannot contain myself. I am euphoric with joy, and it is all caused by these beautiful shades of blue, green, yellow, orange, and pink. I turn around, but my sister's attention is not focused on the display in the window. She is looking at something else. "Katniss, what is it?" I tentatively ask. "It's nothing, Prim, come on, let's go" She replies in a hostile tone. "But can't we stay just a little bit longer?" I plead. In response, Katniss hoists me onto her back and starts walking towards the school. I sigh in defeat, and allow myself to be carried further and further away from the beautiful colors.


	2. Frost

Frost-Haymitch

I can't believe the female tribute has made it this far. Usually both of the district 12s die at the bloodbath on the first day. Just like Karn did this year. I bang my bottle on the computer keyboard, suddenly overcome with fury and anger. Karn was an idiot, directly disobeying me to go fight for supplies. It's kind of amusing how powerful I am. If the tributes disobey me they die. But then again, if they listen to me, they still die. The Capitol is in charge of their lives, no doubt about it. _If you mess with us, we won't kill you. We'll do something worse; we'll kill your children" _This is the haunting message that goes through my head every time I return to district 12 to face the miserable parents of the fallen. _It's not my fault that all of these kids die, so why must you blame me? _If they're angry, why don't they go start a rebellion? I take another swig of the liquor. It's really the only thing that keeps me sane at this point. As I polish off the bottle of white alcohol, I slowly droop into unconsciousness.

************************************

"Haymitch, wake up!" A gentle yet demanding voice rouses me from my stupor. "Seeder, is that you?" I mumble. I don't socialize very much with the determined victor from district 11, preferring her partner Chaff, my frequent drinking partner. But that doesn't mean I exactly hate Seeder. I actually like her quite a bit. Once she notices that I am awake, her face grows long and her voice melancholy. "Haymitch, Resa died while you were sleeping" She tells me before returning to Chaff. I check the female monitor on my station. Sure enough, both screens are blank. Although I have told myself a thousand times it doesn't matter, tears run down my face. "Wait!" I call out to Seeder. "How did she die?" I ask her quietly. Seeder notices my pain, and a look of suffering appears on her face. "Frost," she whispers quietly.


	3. Blood

Blood-Annie

My earliest memory is constantly replaying in my head. Every time I see the boats come back to the harbor without any fish, it is there, reminding me of my uncle's death, and the first time I saw blood.

When my uncle's ship came back to harbor, they had no catch. The crew was hoping to slip by unnoticed, but the Peacekeepers see everything. Being only six years old, I didn't understand what was happening when they dragged the captain of the ship (who was my uncle) to a wall and made him press his face against the hard granite. My mother began sobbing uncontrollably as the Peacekeepers removed their guns from their sides and placed their fingers on the triggers. "What's going on Mama?" I asked my mother, pulling slightly on her hand. She didn't stop crying. I would find out soon enough.

"_FIRE" _

**BANG! **

The multiple splotches of red tear at my uncle's body, consuming his life, reaping his blood, taking him away from this world.


	4. Yell

Yell- Cato

I never imagined that dying would be difficult. Truthfully, I never even imagined death itself. I was so confident in my abilities that dying in these games never crossed my thoughts. Yet still, here I am, reduced to a sniveling baby all because of a skinny girl and the Capitol's muttations. And now, thoughts of living are slipping with every tear the wolf-creatures make in my flesh. Instead, a thousand easier deaths pop into my head as I wish for them with everything I have. But nothing happens. Only groans, then whimpers, escape my lips. The night wears on and on, but no salvation comes. I try to close the one eye I have left, but I can't find the energy. I have long stopped making any sounds. When will it end? When will I be free? The day finally dawns, but all it means to me is more broken dreams, more hurt family members, more pain. Is it hours or seconds until I see a figure in the distance raise its weapon? I can't tell, and I am far past caring. Death is finally here, what I dreaded; now welcome is impending. I could leave the world like the pathetic coward I am, and forever be remembered as such. But the world is amassed with trickery, so I try to remain brave. The warrior inside of me mutters one final yell, and then the world turns black.


	5. Animal

Animal- District 10 boy

I can almost say that I'm glad I was chosen for the Hunger Games. Not that I'm eager to die, but better a lame cripple than a boy like my younger brother who has so much of life left to live. Back in district 10, I was as good as dead anyways. I couldn't make a living, obviously, and for my family I was just one more mouth to feed. Next year when I was 19 there wouldn't be anywhere for me to go. And I would certainly not be able to live on my own. My parents wouldn't want me to starve, but with 6 other mouths to feed they might have to keep their priorities straight. But I find it very obvious that I will die. Everyone in Panem can probably see that. I have a lame foot, my 'stylist' created a dull costume for me, and I scored a two in training. But as I hang from a tree, tangled up in a net with my death impending, I cannot help but feel that I am the true victor. The Capitol didn't want a cripple to be in the Games, I am certain of it. What's the fun in watching someone be murdered if they can't run and scream? I am the true victor, for whoever wins these games will be turned into an animal.


	6. Oddity

Oddity: Madge

Maybe they think I can't hear them. Maybe they think I'm too aloof to care. Maybe they're trying to make me feel guilty. Or maybe they know how much it hurts to be lonely, and they want me to suffer.

Regardless, my stomach drops a mile every time I hear people talking about me between classes.

"There goes Madge Undersee"

"Look at her new coat"

"How much do you think it cost?"

"Doesn't bloody matter, it would feed my family for a month"

"She's a little prisshead acting like that when the rest of us are starving"

They don't even know that I would give up my privileged lifestyle for just one friend.

I guess I really am an oddity.


	7. Chapter 7

Gratitude- Thresh's sister

It's not the Capitol that I hate. A lot of the people in District 11 are filled with contempt for the privileged bubble-heads of the big city, but I could care less about them. They aren't the ones who killed my brother, so why blame them?

It's the monster of a Career, Cato that I despise. After he killed Thresh, I focused all of my being on loathing him, and plotting unrealistic ways to get my revenge. Then Cato was killed by Katniss and her boyfriend. After that, I had nothing to cling too. My grandmother is too old to even remember who I am, my parents and my brother are dead, and the one reason I had for living has been taken by another girl. So now I hate Katniss Everdeen; the witch who's life my brother spared. Thresh was an idiot to let her live. I know he would have come back if he killed her. It gave Cato more of a reason to kill Thresh when he killed the girl from district 2 but let Katniss live.

A lot of people say Katniss Everdeen will be Panem's savior, but I feel no gratitude.


End file.
